Air China, the country's flagship air carrier, said it expected to post a loss for the first three quarters because of lower passenger volume and high fuel cost.

In a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Thursday, the state-owned airline attributed the loss to high fuel cost, the Sichuan earthquake, market fluctuations during the Olympic Games and the global financial crisis.

The Beijing-based carrier posted a net profit of 1.28 billion yuan (US$187.3 million) in the first half of 2008, down 1.38 percent from the same period last year.

Based on the Chinese accounting standard, its net profit was 3.488 billion yuan, or 0.287 yuan per share, in the first nine months last year.

The company was slated to release third quarter results on Oct.29.

Air China plunged 6.17 percent to 4.87 yuan at the noon break on Thursday after the earnings forecast.

(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2008)